In January I chose SUCCESS as my word of the year for 2010. Rather than set resolutions I beat myself up for when I break them, instead I pick a positive word to focus my intention and attention on during the year. Little did I know that SUCCESS for me would come to mean that 2010 was the year I beat breast cancer!
In April I was called back after my routine mammogram so they could look at something a little more closely. The second mammo was still not enough and they wanted a biopsy. Not believing I had cancer yet, I went to the best imaging service I could find, the Boston Breast Diagnostic Center in Wellesley MA. I expected the ultra sound to prove it was nothing. Instead, Dr Levin moved right into biopsy. Still expecting negative results, the wind was knocked out of my sails when she called a few days later to tell me in fact I had invasive ductal carcinoma. But the good news, she said, was that it was small, and mine should be more of a nuisance than a treatment. She sent me off with a JILLIES gown to feel more dignified during treatment and the picture is of me wearing one in between getting injected with radio isotopes and wired up for lumpectomy surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
I have been cancer-free since the surgery on June 15th (yay!) and now am in radiation therapy to guard against any future cancer. I will start tamoxifen in about a month. My support network and my positive attitude have never been stronger. I am eating better, exercising more, doing yoga, massage and taking better care of me. I expect to live a long long time!
Ghent, NY
